Obama State of the Union Calls for a “Year of Action”— Highlighting Multiple SEMI Priorities

Obama
State of the Union Calls for a “Year of Action”— Highlighting Multiple SEMI
Priorities

By Jamie Girard, senior
director, North America Public Policy, SEMI

On
January 28, 2014, President Obama used the occasion of his 5th State
of the Union address to Congress to call for a “Year of Action.” The President touched on many different
policy areas during his talk, and specifically mentioned a number of issues
that are of top concern with SEMI member companies. Among these are funding for federal R&D,
including public-private partnerships, trade, high-skilled immigration reform,
and solar energy. With 2013 being a year
that set the mark for futility in numbers of bills passed into law in the
modern era, lawmakers of both parties will need to boost their standing with
the public if they hope for a successful outcome in the mid-term elections to
be held in November of this year.

Advanced Manufacturing

“We also have the
chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of
high-tech manufacturing jobs.…”

Although
the President failed to name his program in his speech, he was referring to the
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). This program aims to create public-private
partnerships which bring together industry, government, academia, economic
development agencies to focus on challenges that are faced in advanced
manufacturing. Because SEMI members are
at the forefront of some of the most advanced manufacturing imaginable, there
is great potential seen in this program.

Even
though the administration has been rolling out some of the manufacturing hubs,
to make the program truly successful, Congress needs to pass legislation to
authorize the program. That’s why SEMI
has been supporting H.R. 2996/S.1428, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and
Innovation (RAMI) Act, which will do just that. This bill has been introduced
in both houses, has by partisan support, and has been considered in multiple
Congressional hearing, including one in which SEMI testified. In addition to SEMI, the bill is supported by
SIA, numerous colleges and universities, and the National Association of
Manufacturing (NAM)

Federal R&D Funding

“Listen, China and
Europe aren't standing on the sidelines; neither should we. We know that the
nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy
tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender. Federally-funded research
helped lead to the ideas and inventions behind Google and smartphones. And
that's why Congress should undo the damage done by last year's cuts to basic
research so we can unleash the next great American discovery.”

Because
of the mandatory government spending cuts known as “sequestration”, the federal
government cut funding for research and development funding by $10 billion in
2013, or 7 percent. SEMI opposed these
cuts, and will work with policymakers to try and reinstate greater levels of
funding for basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the
National Institutes for Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of
Energy (DoE) Office of Science. The good
news out of the December bipartisan budget deal is that these cuts are
beginning to be reversed, with an increase of $4 billion for FY2014. SEMI will
continue to educate our elected officials to make them fully aware of the need
for federal R&D spending and the great return on investment that taxpayers
get from those investments.

High-skilled Immigration
Reform

“Finally, if we're
serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders,
labor leaders, faith leaders, law enforcement — and fix our broken immigration
system.”

Although
the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill in July 2013 by a
vote of 68-32, much work remains to be done in the House of Representatives to
makes those changes in the Senate bill into law. While SEMI takes no position on the other
issues surrounding immigration reform, we are in strong support of reforming
the high-skilled immigration statutes that currently exist. The Senate bill would raise the number of
H1-B visas in the US to 185,000 per year in good economic times, and also allow
those who earn a Ph.D. in a STEM field to obtain a green card. SEMI supports the needs of its members to
higher qualified individuals to meet the needs of the market, and keep
U.S.-educated talent in the U.S. to strengthen the economy and seed innovation.

Trade

“…[W]hen 98
percent of our exporters are small businesses, new trade partnerships with
Europe and the Asia-Pacific will help them create more jobs. We need to
work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our
workers, protect our environment, and open new markets to new goods stamped
“Made in the USA.” China and Europe aren’t standing on the
sidelines. Neither should we.”

SEMI
applauds the President’s pledge to work with Congress to pass Trade Promotion
Authority legislation and his remarks on the importance of advancing U.S. trade
agreements to support American growth and jobs. Passage of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP), and the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) remain key
priorities for SEMI as we work to expand market access for SEM products around
the world. It is our hope that the Administration’s support for these
free trade deals will provide the impetus for bipartisan Congressional backing
in the coming year. SEMI remains closely engaged in the negotiation of
each of these agreements to promote the best possible outcomes for our members
upon implementation.

Solar/PV

“It’s not
just oil and natural gas production that’s booming; we’re becoming a global
leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or
business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can’t
be outsourced. Let’s continue that progress with a smarter tax policy
that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don’t need
it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do.”

Following a
year of unprecedented growth in domestic solar installations, the President’s
reaffirmation of support for solar comes as welcomed news. SEMI has been a
strong advocate in Washington for federal tax incentives supporting solar
manufacturing and adoption. Of particular note are two pieces of
legislation that closely align with the President’s State of the Union
comments. Having partnered with the broader renewable energy coalitions, SEMI
has pushed for consideration of the Renewable Energy Parity Act (HR 2502) to
allow solar projects to qualify for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) as
soon as they break ground, rather than at the time of project completion.
Similarly, we have engaged a host of Congressional officials to discuss the
merits of the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act (HR 1696), a bill that
would extend to solar the same tax-free investment structure available to the
fossil fuels industries. Along with other important solar initiatives, SEMI
plans to work with the Administration and Congress in the coming year to see
these provisions signed into law.

Conclusion

While
SEMI supports many of the policy objectives put forward by President Obama,
there were some issues on which the President did not touch. SEMI also supports the renewal and making
permanent the Research & Development tax credit, which expired at the end
of 2013, and should be renewed by Congress immediately. In addition, SEMI member companies continue
to face burdensome regulations like the need to obtain export licenses on many
of their products, which hinders U.S. companies’ ability to be competitive
internationally.

SEMI
continues to support the needs of its members in Washington, D.C. with federal
lawmakers and welcomes any thoughts our members have with regards to their interactions
with federal policy. If you have any
input regarding SEMI’s U.S. public policy, please contact Jamie Girard, senior
director, Public Policy, at jgirard@semi.org